ANAHEIM — First off, let’s begin by saying this was not easy. This was not just about the dreaded California trip. This was a two-week exercise in something that is routinely done in the NBA, but is unheard of in the NHL: load management.

The term load management has become a fancy way for NBA teams to say they are resting guys, managing their season-long load by giving them strategic games off. This is something NHL teams almost never do, not on purpose anyway, unless they’re lying about certain illnesses and minor injuries, which I don’t feel is the case. The NHL’s version of load management is giving someone a day off practice. Maybe two. But missing a game to rest if you’re healthy is something that almost never happens.

This was the challenge facing Claude Julien over the past two weeks as his Canadiens left Montreal on Feb. 22 to travel to Toronto for a game on Feb. 23, a game where the Canadiens could pull to within one point of the Maple Leafs with...